How To Buy A Mens Diamond Chain

Posted on March 03 2017

Diamond Chains: The Cherry On Top Of Streetwear Culture

The ingredient to streetwear culture’s mainstream appeal can be found in men’s iced out chains.

Fashion purists have always questioned what constitutes as streetwear culture. After all, any baggy jean-wearing dude with an iced out chain can consider his outfit as a part of that--even if the baggy jeans in question are skater boy inspired Dickies. Yet, years of urban fashion gaining a foothold in mainstream culture have forced the fashion obsessed to consider it as more than just a white t-shirt and low-hanging slacks. Sporty influences on haute couture are often borne from what was hot in the streets, whether it was a hoodie with men’s diamond tennis necklace or designer sneakers that complement the diamond ankh chain around your neck. While certain brands understood the core idea of streetwear style, others miss the mark with an avant-garde aesthetic that bears little resemblance to the dookie chain look that has been synonymous with urban couture throughout hip-hop’s history.

Originating from the East Coast in the seventies, streetwear hit its stride in the eighties when b-boys rolled out in iced out Cubans whenever they were hanging around town. The New York City vibe was evident in the custom diamond chains that rappers wore in their videos back then, which is how many fans came to emulate that street style. From the diamond hip hop chain that Big Daddy Kane wore to the men’s diamond pendants that became a part of Slick Rick’s look, it was clear that they were setting the stage for what was hot with the younger generation. Soon after, you saw young cats showing off their own hip-hop bling in the gold diamond chain style like a blingtastic diamond cross that complemented their freshest sweat suit and Kangol look. By the time the end of the decade rolled around, it was safe to say that streetwear was well on its way to crossing over all around the country thanks in large part to men’s iced out chains.

Even though hip-hop style became heavily commercialized in the nineties with the rise of brands such as Karl Kani, FUBU, and Cross Colours, it really didn’t become a fashion force to be reckoned with until street style became an industry term in the early 2000s. Influential shotcallers like Diddy and Dame Dash proudly wore their designer duds with diamond dog tags as a way to incorporating their streetwear sensibilities with their appreciation for luxury designers. Fashion insiders saw how many people were adopting that look in pairing their black diamond chains with their finest suits and decided to work street style jewelry into their runway collections. With the advancement of social media to accelerate hip-hop fashion trends into the hot new thing, it’s no surprise that a diamond Jesus piece on a diamond hip hop chain in a Fashion Week production can be considered the height of haute couture.

The culture of streetwear came in full circle once everyone from fashion mavericks to dapper gentlemen around the world started wearing diamond chains for any occasion that they saw fit. Limiting a diamond angel pendant to jewelry that you’d wear with a baggy jean pantsuit is an idea that has since been left behind, as there have been many occasions of men wearing custom diamond chains with a classic button down shirt and pressed khakis or a designer suit with a sleek pair of loafers. With that in mind, the edgy spirit of streetwear style remains in spite of the ever-changing fashion trends that start out with the dudes who want the world to know that they are balling in their men’s iced out chains. It’s easy for a man to make that cutting-edge fashion statement with swagger these days when he’s rocking that urban style with a iced-out key necklace around his neck that let’s the world know that he’s about that streetwear life.